SB Nation - Anthony Smith

Incognito out, Amendola in: Random Ramsdom, 11/10

VanRam — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:56:18 -0000

Feelin' kind of random today? Headlines are percolating as the St. Louis Rams gear up for a tough game against the New Orleans Saints this week, so let's shake off the bye week rust and jump right in.

RG Richie Incognito will be out. It's not official yet, but he's not practicing this week because of his foot injury. Adam Goldberg will start in his place. WR/KR Danny Amendola has recovered from his concussion and will play this week.

A couple of cornerbacks, Marcus Brown and Marquis Floyd, visited Rams Park yesterday. Neither has been inked yet, and S Anthony Smith's roster spot remains open. It seem like we could use the help at CB.

The NFL's schedule makers gave the 2-win Rams of '08 no breaks this year. New Orleans is the third undefeated team they'll face. That's the last, as of this week, elite team the Rams are scheduled to play, but 5-4 Houston comes to town in week 15 looking to keep their wild card shot alive. We've got two more games against the Cardinals as well.

New Orleans had a rough outing against the Panthers last week, having to fight their way back from a 14-point hole. Head coach Sean Payton doesn't seem ready to let that happen again.

Rams Gab takes a look at the New Orleans game this week.

Didn't get enough speculation with yesterday's Jason Campbell talk? How 'bout Tony Dungy suggesting Michael Vick for the Rams? His past aside, I'm going to give that a thumbs down based on Vick's stated desire to be a QB again. I want a guy who can run a passing game with more authority, sorry.

Donnie Avery, fantasy sleeper for week 10? Maybe. I'd feel a lot better about it if I knew Marc Bulger could throw.

Week 9 Open Thread

VanRam — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:43:11 -0000

More photos » by Carlos Osorio - AP

No need for the bags this week.

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It's a bye week for the St. Louis Rams, time to assess, regroup, and get ready for a second half push. Hey, we're on a winning streak too. Here's a quick look at some links of note for your bye week needs.

Here's a Chris Long development story from the PD.
Former Rams S Anthony Smith, picked up from Green Bay, was claimed off waivers by the Jaguars. I kind of liked Smith's potential, but he was buried a bit with James Butler and Craig Dahl back from their injuries.
So Dave Checketts gets (and for a time Rush Limbaugh) gets all the attention for his group's interest in the Rams, but Carl Vogel, a long-time media executive and current board member for DISH Network and Shaw Communications (cable, etc.), is part of Checkett's SCP Worldwide group.
There's still plenty of fantasy action today, so here's recommendations for who to start and who sit.
Some big injury situations out there today. Calvin Johnson still not confirmed to play today, and we'd like to see his team beat the SeaChickens.

I'll leave this up as an open thread for today's games. We're rooting for the Lions to beat the SeaHags and the Titans to put the hurt on the 49ers. I'm indifferent about the Cardinals and Bears.

Analysis: The Backup Safety

Brandon — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 17:00:30 -0000

by Jeffrey Phelps - AP

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With the return of SS Atari Bigby, to play alongside FS Nick Collins, the safety position is as solid as it has been all season. But the lack of depth behind the starters was exposed when Bigby missed 3 games.

Coming into the season, it looked like free agent S Anthony Smith would be the top backup, but he was surprisingly cut after the final preseason game. The backup job initially went to S Aaron Rouse, but his only start, the loss to the Bengals, was the final straw and they wisely decided to release him. Though he resurfaced with the Giants, and has become their starter, it's not because he's playing well. At this point, the Giants have no other options. The Packers also traded for S Derrick Martin before the season started, but he was bad in the Vikings game at Minnesota and hasn't played on defense since. Now he's suffered a concussion and it's not clear whether he'll be able to play next Sunday. After Rouse was released, they signed S Matt Giordano, but when asked whether Giordano was up to speed, McCarthy only said "he's been working." So apparently he's not up to speed. Now the Packers found themselves right back to where they started, and put a waiver claim in on Smith, but they lost out to the Jaguars.

Right now CB/S Jarrett Bush has to be the top backup for either safety position, and it's likely he's the best option of any the other backup candidates I've written about. Who's the best option at this point?

RIghting the ship: Rams looking for their first win

VanRam — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 12:51:29 -0000

More photos » by Ted S. Warren - AP

St. Louis Rams SS James Butler is out again this week.

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Our desire isn't the issue, it's been our judgment.

That's St. Louis Rams owner Chip Rosenbloom summing up the last four or so years of Rams football. Sounds about right to me. The Rams will take the field against Jacksonville today an underdog to the lowly Jaguars. In fact, looking at the upset probabilities posted here, only the Raiders have a longer shot to win today than the Rams. Ouch.

Odds and stats aside, this is a favorable matchup for the Rams, if our offense can build on it's progress from last week against a weak Jacksonville defense and if our defense can continue its strong play against a struggling Jags offense. Take nothing for granted.

Injuries:

The Rams will be without SS James Butler, WR Ruvell Martin & S Anthony Smith. OT Jason Smith will work in rotation with Adam Goldberg. I'm anxious to get Butler back in uniform, but Craig Dahl has been a more than serviceable fill-in.
Jacksonville fields a mostly healthy team today. The one injury to watch is starting LG Maurice Williams, but e should start today.

Linkage:

At least one bettor thinks that this is the Rams week...on the over/under.
If you just can't get enough of the Rush Limbaugh vs. the NFL saga...
What the league should really be worried about: the average cost of going to a game for an individual, $105. And the Rams have the most expensive beer in the league at $8.50 for 20 oz.
Are the Jags possibly interested in trading WR Mike Sims-Walker?

Plague hits the Rams locker room

VanRam — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:42:29 -0000

Here's the thing about H1N1: you're going to get it, but you'll never know when you have it. The difference is the mass hysteria associated with H1N1 versus the regular old flu...or something like that. And pretty much sums up a full day of seminar on the topic.

The St. Louis Rams don't have H1N1 running through the locker room, but players are dropping left and right with injuries. Imagine reading this story about Keenan Burton and Donnie Avery leaving practice yesterday with sore hamstrings. Imagine the Rams without those two? Then again, if a Rams receiver fell in the woods, would anybody notice it?

Kyle Boller will still be making 5 yards attempts to whatever receivers the Rams do have this week, in place of Marc Bulger. At this point, this injury situation is a push.

SS Craig Dahl should be back as will CB Ron Bartell, which is good considering the Rams face Brett Favre and Adrian Peterson this week. This game could be really ugly. Dahl's backup, Anthony Smith, couldn't finish practice either.

It sounds like Jason Smith is practicing again, but will not get the start this week. Hmm. Surely, that must mean he's not 100%, because the Rams will need their best effort in pass blocking this week...to make those short passes. Alex Barron will start, but is this is last chance?

Where's Admiral Ackbar When You Need Him?

Mitchell_M — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 01:32:08 -0000

Because you know he's got the warning for this week.

Hmm, maybe that didn't get the point across like I wanted it to.

Not quite. It's urgent enough, but just not enough repetition...

Ah, here. This is exactly how I want to say it.

Packers. Rams. Week 3. Other short statements. After the jump.

Green Bay put up an uneven performance in week 1 against Chicago. Then they followed that with a positively dismal performance (Charles Woodson excluded, of course) against Cincinnati. Now, they sit at 1-1, and I'm sure many eyes are looking forward to the October 5th showdown between Green Bay and division-leading Minnesota.

But the NFL season, much like the flow of time, is completely chronological and cannot be disturbed. Unless of course your home city suffers a major catastrophe and you're awarded a "home" game in New York. But lets hope that doesn't happen.

The point of this mini-diatribe is that Green Bay has to play the St. Louis Rams before even thinking about the Vikings. And yes, I know, St. Louis has been dreadful for years, but so was Cincinnati (excluding 2006). They started out the year by getting shut out 28-0 to Seattle, and last week lost in an ~~epic~~ ~~entertaining~~ ~~watchable~~ ~~tolerable~~ ~~mediocre~~ awful 9-7 game against Washington. This team has problems. But do you want a repeat of last week? Me neither. So without further delay, let's get to it.

STL rushing vs. GB defense: Steven Jackson, Steven Jackson, Steven Jackson. The first-round pick in fantasy drafts everywhere has struggled over the last few years, usually because of injuries to St. Louis' sorry excuse for an offensive line and virtual lack of any semblance of a passing game. It's hard to run the ball when you're going up against 10 in the box.

That said, Jackson is still one of the top RBs in the game in terms of athleticism, versatility, and talent. Over two games, Jackson has amassed 171 yards on 33 carries, resulting in an excellent 5.2 ypc. He's been kept out of the end zone and hasn't had his usual impact on the passing game, but the potential is always there. Jackson had several injuries hampering his production in 2008, and he seems to have bounced back and looks healthy.

Up front is where St. Louis has suffered so much in recent years. On the left side, Alex Barron is a man who, as some critics put it, looks like Tarzan and plays like Jane. He is a monster at 6'7", 300+ lbs, and has the strength, agility, and quickness to dominate in both run and pass blocking. Unfortunately, Barron's biggest deficiency is work ethic, which undermines his consistency and keeps him a marginal starter (at best). The rest of the line (from LG to RT) is manned by Jacob Bell (6'5", 300), Jason Brown (6'3", 328), the ever mysterious Richie Incognito (6'3", 324), and Adam Goldberg (6'7, 309). Goldberg is starting in place of the injured rookie Jason Smith.

Green Bay did an excellent job in keeping Matt Forte under wraps in week 1, but then imploded when faced with the powerful blocking of Cincinnati's special run-blocking sub package of offensive linemen. The clever coaching maneuver torched the Packers to the tune of 141 yards on 29 carries. Naturally, this was helped by Green Bay's inability to wrap up on tackles, taking good angles towards ball carriers, and converging on the running back whenever a hole opened up.

Advantage: Push. Does Green Bay have a dominant run defense that had a bad day against Cincy? Or do they have a poor run defense that had a good day against Chicago? That debate, along with the juxtaposition of Steven Jackson's talent against his offensive line's limitations makes this matchup a complete draw.

STL passing vs. GB defense: For Steven Jackson, the offensive line made life in the NFL a nightmare. However, nobody suffered more than Marc Bulger. You think Aaron Rodgers has happy feet after two games? Imagine getting pounded into mush week in and week out for at least 3 seasons. Marc Bulger was the conductor of the second phase of the Greatest Show on Turf, and was fairly effective until his protection vanished. He is still an above-average quarterback with decent accuracy, decent arm strength, average mobility, and the ability to read coverages and make the necessary throws (if he has time, of course).

Bulger has always found success whenever surrounded with skilled teammates. Unfortunately for him, that is no longer the case. Steven Jackson is an outstanding receiver, but the rest of the receiving corps includes the like of Donnie Avery, Laurent Robinson, TE Randy McMichael, and the recently-departed Ruvell Martin. Avery has a little bit of speed on vertical routes, and Martin and McMichael have excellent size, but that's all that is notable about this group. As far as pass blocking goes, the Rams' success depends on three things: good line calls from center Jason Brown (their best lineman, but currently dealing with a knee injury), a motivated Alex Barron, and a healthy Jason Smith. They've already lost one of those, so protection will really be at a premium if Green Bay decides to bring heavy pressure.

Of course, that's if Green Bay can afford to bring pressure. The situation at safety is certainly a red flag for the Packers' pass defense. With Atari Bigby out and Nick Collins' availability (currently "day-to-day") unknown, and Aaron Rouse cut in favor of Matt Giordano, Dom Capers' playcalling figures to be much more vanilla than some of us would like. Cullen Jenkins and Clay Matthews both showed off their pass rushing skills last week by recording sacks, and Charles Woodson (2 INT, 1 TD) continues his quest to single-handedly carry the team when the offense isn't working.

Advantage: Green Bay. This defense can get to the quarterback, and no team is more vulnerable than this St. Louis squad missing its top draft pick. If they get a chance to blitz, expect another dominating performance.

GB rushing vs. STL defense: Ryan Grant was a huge disappointment in 2008, but his new contract, attendance at training camp, and a healed hamstring make it look like he's ready to shine again. He hasn't found much help up front, limiting him to 107 yards on 30 carries, but you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone that doesn't think he'd have better stats if he hadn't been limited to 3 carries in the second half of the Cincy game.

With Clifton out for the forseeable future with a sprained ankle, the offensive line is shuffled once again. The lineup, from left to right, will likely be Daryn Colledge, Jason Spitz, Scott Wells, Josh Sitton, and Allen Barbre. According to Jason Wilde, there are several other options that the team is considering, including moving Barbre from RT to LT and promoting either Breno Giacomini or T.J. Lang to RT. This would keep the interior line of Colledge-Spitz-Sitton intact.

With so much uncertainty, Green Bay's chances of mounting an effective ground attack are up in the air. Fortunately, St. Louis is far from a stalwart run defense. As a team, they're giving up 146 yards per game. This is even more glaring when considering their first opponent (Seattle) is no longer a powerhouse rushing team. Still, despite giving up large chunks of yardage, the Rams' run defense did not allow Clinton Portis to score in Week 2. The addition of James Laurinaitis and return to health of Will Witherspoon more than makes up for the release of Pisa Tinoisamoa, and the tandem of Clifton Ryan and Jake Long are fairly strong against run blockers. However, Adam Carriker's trip to the I.R. promoted the undersized Gary Gibson to start alongside the aging Leonard Little, leaving the right side of their defensive line vulnerable to the run. Nobody in St. Louis' secondary can be described as a run-stopper.

Advantage: Green Bay, but only if they actually call run plays. If Grant sees less than five carries in a half, you'll know something went wrong. If there's a team vulnerable to a strong running game, it's the 2009 Rams.

GB passing vs. STL defense: Aaron Rodgers looked like a world-beater in the preseason...until teams started stepping up their pass rush and the offensive tackles forgot how to pass block. Allen Barbre made remarkable improvement from the first week to the second, but he will have his hands full with Leonard Little. The winner Barbre-Little matchup will likely determine the owner of the RT position for the rest of the season. On the other side, Jake Long is a capable pass rusher in the mold of Aaron Kampman before he got famous (unathletic but high motor, poor mechanics but determined, blah blah blah...) Whoever starts at LT (most likely Daryn Colledge) won't have as difficult of a matchup as the RT (Barbre), but still a matchup to pay attention to.

St. Louis' pass defense is ranked 25th in the league, giving up 258 yards per game. This is largely because of the average defensive backfield they employ. At CB, Ronald Bartell and Jonathan Wade are merely decent players with an average skill set. They're not lightning fast or amazing athletes or strong bump-and-run style corners; they're just guys who go out and try to execute whatever coverage is given to them.

Their situation at safety is better with James Butler and Oshiomogho Atogwe starting with our beloved Anthony Smith filling the backup role for both positions. Both Butler and Atogwe are young players with good experience starting in the NFL, they're both rangy athletes who can cover space, and Atogwe in particular has a knack for finding the ball. Neither one is particularly strong in run support, but they won't shy away from it either.

Aaron Rodgers' protection is priority #1 on offense, but catching passes is a close #2. In both games, the dependable cast of Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, James Jones, and Jordy Nelson have all had at least one dropped ball. Jermichael Finley and Ryan Grant also have drops, but Finley is still maturing and Grant has never been a good receiver. The return of Brandon Jackson to practice on Wednesday might give Rodgers another weapon on passing downs, but that shouldn't matter. The talent is there, and Rodgers has done an excellent job keeping control of the ball despite getting batted around like a ball of yarn in the first two weeks. If the receivers can shake off whatever is keeping them from catching passes, Rodgers' punishment at least won't be in vain.

Advantage: Green Bay by a slight margin. Again, the talent is there; they just need to execute.

Preliminary Verdict: Green Bay has an excellent chance of bouncing back from the Cincinnati debacle and playing a dominant game against the Rams. But be warned, if the players are thinking more about Adrian Peterson, Jared Allen, and You Know Who than they are Steven Jackson, Jake Long, and Marc Bulger, expect another major disappointment (and even more Vikings fans coming to the site to let us know that the Packers failed.)

Let's put it this way: Neither team has very much momentum right now. Green Bay has higher aspirations for this season, so they could definitely use the boost. Hopefully, they don't overlook the Rams like some people feel they did the Bengals.

Poll

What outcome do you see for Week 3 vs. St. Louis?

Big GB win.

213 votes

Slim GB win.

149 votes

Too close to call.

32 votes

Slim STL win.

36 votes

Big STL win.

22 votes

452 votes | Poll has closed

Chicago Bears Would Be Well Served Throwing To Matt Forte If They Hope To Knock Off Defending Champion Pittsburgh Steelers

Blitzburgh — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 08:11:35 -0000

More photos » by John Smierciak - AP

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Last season, running back Matt Forte led the Chicago Bears in receptions with 63. Second on the squad was tight end Greg Olson with 54, followed by speed merchant Devon Hester with 51. Before I go on, how anemic was the Bears passing offense last year!?! Sheesh. I digress. Forte led all running backs last year with those 63 receptions, besting good friend Maurice Jones-Drew by a single reception.

In Sunday's 21-15 loss to the Packers, the Bears only threw to Forte just once. It was during the 2nd quarter and Chicago was knocking on the door inside the Green Bay 10. Cutler was picked off and never looked to dump it off to his sure-handed running back again. Forte had plenty of carries in the 2nd half but never was able to take some pressure off Cutler and the wide receivers as a viable pass-catching threat. I didn't watch this game so I can't comment on whether or not Green Bay designed a scheme that minimized Forte's potential impact in the passing game. It's kind of hard to do that though in the first place, so my guess is no.

Here's my take. In Jay Cutler's first game, I imagine he was pressing a bit too much to try to make big plays to the outside and over the middle of the field to his tight end and wide receivers. The check down to the running back isn't very sexy. That's a common trap for young quarterbacks to fall in to - not taking what might be given to them underneath while waiting for opportunities down the field. Hell, it took the greatest quarterback to ever play - Peyton Manning - a number of years before he finally disciplined himself to not force things.

I'd bet that Cutler gets reminded all week about dumping the ball off to Forte early in the game. For several reasons. Firstly, without Troy Polamalu out there making incredible tackles in open space and taking angles away from guys before they get a head of steam going, it's more likely that the Bears can muster some positive yardage (3-6+ yards) with short passes. Just think back to last week and the tackle of Chris Johnson near the goal-line of the Titan's first drive and you will realize that no other player on the Steelers roster can make open field tackles quiet like Troy Polamalu. With the Steelers most explosive player scratched from this one, the Bears should resist the temptation to try to burn the backup with the deep ball and instead challenge them to make play after play against shifty playmakers like Forte in open space. It only takes one whiff by a defender to yield dividends.

Secondly, Cutler needs to get his head right early on in this contest. The Bears are playing at home rather than in the hostile confines of Lambeau Field, so that should help. But if he struggles early and the crowd begins to groan..well, given what we know about Cutler's ability to remain even keeled mentally, I'd imagine that the Bears coaching staff will do everything possible to make sure he has some positive moments out there before they ask him to shoulder too much responsibility.

Finally, if Cutler and the Bears offense are able to get things going - even just a bit - early on by softening the Steelers pass rush with some screens and other passes to Forte, that may very well get Pittsburgh's reserve safetys to make a crucial error over-committing later on in the game. We saw Anthony Smith doing it against the Patriots. And though he deserves credit for what he has and continues to contribute to this football team, we all know that Tyrone Carter doesn't take the best angles or possess top-notch athleticism at this stage in his career.

If Chicago can find the right balance of patience, diverse play calling and success methodically taking what the Steelers defense gives them early in the game, they could very well strike big later in the game when physical fatigue slowly begins to set in. Physical fatigue leads to mental mistakes and Ryan Mundy, William Gay and Tyrone Carter ain't a bad group of defensive backs to take your chances against when the stakes are high.

Am I concerned about this Sunday's game? Yup. At least on defense. That's largely because I think they will look to get the ball in Forte's hands in the passing game rather than trying to pound the rock with him on the ground or give Cutler the green light to sling it around the perimeter and deep over the middle early in the game. I do think the Steelers offense can lead this team to victory on Sunday, even if the defense were to allow 17-24 points. It's too early in the season to make bold declarations about any units in the NFL, but my hunch is that the Steelers offense - particularly the passing game - is going to be extremely formidable all year, particularly against mediocre pass defenses. Chicago's would qualify.

So if I had to guess, I'd say ignore all the chirping by the announcers about how this one is going to be a low-scoring affair. I don't see it with Pittsburgh's top defensive back being out, and coupled with Lawrence Timmons likely out the Bears will have a lot more space in the middle of the field than usual. Additionally, I also just wrote a few days ago that that I didn't feel Chicago's defense was as good as advertised the past two seasons. I think the Bears' defense will be better down the road - both later this year and in future years - due to them paying more attention to that side of the ball. But it can't and won't happen overnight. And with the slew of injuries Pittsburgh must contend with, combined with the fact that Chicago's playing at home in what should be gorgeous conditions, I have a hard time seeing how this game is a low-scoring affair. That's if Big Ben makes good decisions with the football. And that's if the Bears look to get the ball in to the hands of second year sensation Matt Forte in other ways besides just handing the ball off to him.

Poll

Matt Forte - Over/Under 120 rushing + receiving yards against Pittsburgh?

Over

312 votes

Under

815 votes

1127 votes | Poll has closed

Atari Bigby Out 4 Weeks

Mitchell_M — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 21:15:59 -0000

Well, that was unexpected. According to both Jason Wilde and the Green Bay Press-Gazzette, via Pro Football Talk, Bigby sustained a "serious" knee injury that will keep him sidelined for at least a month.

So, Bigby's out, Aaron Rouse is in, and Anthony Smith is no longer with the team. Derrick Martin is now the team's only proven backup at safety, unless McCarthy wants to slide Charles Woodson to safety, which has proven to be a bad idea. (But what about Jarrett Bush? What about Jarrett Bush?)

How this will affect the defensive playcalling is yet to be seen. Bigby is a big hitter, but is erratic in most other functions of the safety position. Rouse has been called a "capable backup," but I'm not sure I agree. In any case, we saw how conservative Dom Capers became when Nick Collins wasn't available. Hopefully, Bigby's absence won't have the same effect.

Can the Rams do it with just four receivers?

VanRam — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:08:48 -0000

More photos » by Anonymous - AP

With just four receivers on the roster to open the season, the St. Louis Rams will lean heavily on No. 1 wide receiver Donnie Avery.

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So maybe you had better get used to this four receiver roster after all. As of now, all signs point to the St. Louis Rams opening the regular season in Seattle with just four receivers on the roster. It's been widely expected here and around the interwebs that they would most certainly add a receiver after cutting Nate Jones (and adding him to the practice squad) to clear space for DT LaJuan Ramsey and S Anthony Smith, a move that put them at their current total of just four WRs.

I'm still in benefit of the doubt mode for Spagnuolo and Co.. However, that seems a little risky with Donnie Avery just coming off a broken foot (he did play a couple series against the Chiefs last week though). The payroll might be figuring into the decision at this point, since any veteran WR they pick up now would get his contract guaranteed by being on the opening day roster. Wait a week and they're free to talk turkey with potential additions. They could also be waiting to see what Philly, with seven WRs on the roster, decides to do with Hank Baskett and Reggie Brown.

Let's get to the question of whether or not the Rams need more than four receivers. I think they do, especially given the injury history of Laurent Robinson and Keenan Burton. Do they need a fifth guy in time for the Seattle game? That's another matter. Pat Shurmur's offense calls for plenty of two tight end sets. We'll also be treated to Steven Jackson lining up in the slot or out wide on some plays too, something we did not see in the preseason. Those players could be the key to matchups this week, since Seattle has a pretty good group of linebackers.

Don't expect four receivers to suffice as the season goes on.

Rams host free agent RB: Random Ramsdom, 9/8

VanRam — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:52:04 -0000

It's a game week, regular season game week as the St. Louis Rams get ready to take on the Seattle Seahawks to pull the curtain off the new look franchise.

ESPN has their NFL team previews up, with expert projections (we're projected to finish 4th in the division), info from Scouts, Inc. and more. Here's the bottom line from their preview:

The Rams took the safe route by selecting an offensive tackle, Jason Smith, with the second overall choice. They had too much money invested in Marc Bulger to select a quarterback early without considering other options. Of course, the Rams couldn't help but draft for need because they had so many from which to choose. Second-round linebacker James Laurinaitis filled another one. The biggest disappointment might have been failing to find an impact receiver, but how many of those are there in a given draft?

It never ceases to amaze me how closely NFL projections follow precedent. Barring the addition of a big time free agent or a sexy draft pick, predictions from the experts always look a lot like the final standings from the season before...which ought to tell you something about the usefulness of predictions.

The Rams will be hosting RB Gary Russell for a visit today. Russell got some work down the stretch as a short yardage guy for the Steelers, getting a Super Bowl TD. In preseason with the Raiders, he had 28 carries for 154 yards and 3 TDs. Russell averaged 5.5 yards per carry. He also shows some promise as a return man, where the Steelers also used him in the postseason. This news has to make Kenneth Darby a little worried.

Apparently, S Anthony Smith was quite a prize for the Rams, as a number of teams wanted him, but the Rams had an early shot at him thanks to their waiver priority status. Few thought he would be cut in Green Bay.

QB Marc Bulger and his broken pinkie will take snaps under center (he's been fine out of the shotgun) for the first time since the week after the Jets preseason game on Wednesday. You can pretty much guarantee it will be painful. How painful is the real question.

DT Adam Carriker has shoulder surgery tomorrow. Meh.